Conserving Energy
by TelephonePollster
Summary: Yuuka must get bored during winter. Just a look at a possible event. Hooray for a strange couple! Maybe a little fluffy? I guess. Not really romance.


Conservatory

As Yuuka Kazami lazed in her lounge chair, taking in the warm spring sun in her conservatory, feeling the soft, knitted scarf she was using as a pillow, she found herself considering another Gensokyan well known for napping.

That Yakumo woman. Aside from spirits like Letty Whiterock, who were forced into resting when they were out of season, Yukari Yakumo took the sleeping cake. All winter – ALL winter – she could hibernate, rolled up in her blankets in the back of her mountainside home. And nothing could wake her up.

Her servant Ran had held a competition to wake Yukari up, a few years ago. Yuuka still remembered the day she had decided to try herself.

...

The Adonis flower had lost its charm quickly that winter. Considering that it was really the only flower around until February, Yuuka had been at a loss. What could she do with herself for another month? The answer had appeared suddenly, in the form of a small cat youkai prancing around in front of the Garden of the Sun's gate.

"Finding water, finding water… Must wake Master Yukari this year, no matter what!"

After thoroughly scolding Elly for slacking off and allowing small cats near the premises, Yuuka decided to investigate. After all, this Yukari person seemed to be well known, and if she was allowing her servants to run rampant… well! What harm could be done?

"Climbing… a mountain… should not… be… so… hard!" wheezed out a breathless flower youkai. Yuuka closed her eyes for a moment. She opened them again. She blinked. Then, her situation made itself remembered by striking her repeatedly. It struck her that she should not have tried to climb with no preparation. It struck her that she was dangling from a creaking branch jutting out from the sheerest cliff in the country. Then, the branch broke, and struck her on the head.

_As Aya Shameimaru flew back to her home, she marveled at the striking picture she had just taken. It would certainly look good on the front page. Title: FLOWER YOUKAI AND ROCK CLIMBING PROVEN INCOMPATIBLE! Yuuka Kazami was found crushed by both her failed attempt at mountaineering and the rockslide that accompanied aforementioned failure. Further investigation was curtailed by giant lasers and vicious insults…_

"Forget this, I'm flying! Climbing wasn't part of the deal, was it! Damn cat…"

As she alighted less than gracefully on the Yakumo's porch, she was greeted by shrill meowing from inside.

"But, Master Ran! I wanted to try waking Master Yukari this year, too!"

"Chen! Stop acting spoiled this instant! I didn't raise you to be a brat!"

"This water was hard to get, Master Ran! And carrying it up the mountain-"

"Water some flowers with it then, or something, but do not dump it on Master Yukari!"

"Yes, water flowers. Take it to my Garden of the Sun, the sunflowers are in want of attention today. Just tell Elly I sent you, if she's awake, and she should let you through." Yuuka poked her head through the door, and smiled at the unmoving inhabitants. "Also, I wanted to try waking your master myself. Could you direct me to her?"

Chen growled. Ran frowned.

"Perhaps the mountain wasn't enough of a tip-off, but we don't like intrusions," said the fox demon as she advanced on Yuuka.

"And I don't like stinkbugs. Nasty little beasts, aren't they? They get everywhere…" replied a still smiling flower youkai.

"What does that have to do with this?"

"Oh, nothing I suppose. Ah! You stopped moving! Also, you haven't asked my name yet. I'm quite surprised."

"…Where did that thought come from?"

"Who knows? I get disoriented at this time of year. Ta!"

She waltzed past the two befuddled servants into the rear room. They glanced at each other, and then shrugged, mutually deciding that their former argument was more important.

Yuuka blocked out the loud discussion about Chen's bucket by sliding the door shut. She took in her surroundings for the first time since starting up the mountain. Plain white walls – ostensibly thin, but even at this altitude, they sufficed – shelves of strange books – Yuuka enjoyed reading a few things, but could not decipher the strange writing on these books' binding – and not much else, aside from a few bed rolls and one sleeping blonde woman.

The first thing that struck Yuuka was how lucky the woman was. Regardless of actual ability, she was widely known as the strongest youkai, could apparently warp in and out anywhere she wanted, and –

"Damn it, she's pretty!"

Yuuka continued fuming for a few minutes – _servants, can sleep through the uncomfortable season, soft looking hair _– before remembering her original purpose.

"Let's see your bed-head then, Sleeping Beauty." Yuuka wasn't sure where she had heard that name before, but she had, and it seemed to apply.

She flexed her fingers, crept nearer to the bed, reached down… And couldn't resist touching the lovely looking hair splayed out on the pillow.

"Aha! I was right, it is soft." As it turned out, so was the woman's skin, as Yuuka discovered when she tried to tickle her awake.

"Y'know, I promised myself I wouldn't get sidetracked, but… I guess this is what Elly meant when she called me a sadist, maybe. It's just so easy! And since she isn't waking up, I can do… well, I can do whatever, right? It's not like there are any rules here."

"Actually, there are, Miss Kazami. I set them myself. It amuses me, though, to see people so disappointed when they get all the way up here for nothing."

"Damn it! Your voice is nice too! Wait, wha-"

"Shh. Don't let Ran know I'm awake. She'd be terribly upset, and try to make me work."

"Mm fmm."

"You see, I can wake up whenever I want. I just alter the border between sleep and wakefulness. So I can make myself half conscious, too. I have to make sure no one does anything… perverted, you know?"

"Mm hm. Mm mmfh."

"I thought you would. Speaking of which… what exactly did you mean by, 'anything'? What was your intent?" Yukari took her hand off Yuuka's mouth.

"Well. Um. I guess I meant that you're really pretty and that I wanted to do something perverted."

"… Wow, that was straightforward."

"It's one of my strong points."

"Doesn't stop your face from matching your eyes. You're terribly red."

"Yeah, I could tell."

"…"

"…"

The silence dragged on after Yuuka's last comment. Both parties looked around the room, trying to find other things to focus on.

"… Well this is awkward."

"Uh huh. You don't say."

"But… All right, was… Was there any other reason you came here?"

"Oh, yeah, well, I'd heard you called the strongest youkai in Gensokyou and all, and I was pissed at someone else having my title. But now I don't want to beat you up, 'cause I'm already tired out from climbing and then flying up the mountain and I'd lose."

"I see."

"But since I'm here, can you give me some sleeping lessons?"

"… What?"

"Sleeping lessons. I want to sleep like you do."

"I just told you, it relies on my abilities-"

"Oh! So then…"

"What?"

"I really am the best at sleeping!"

"Um."

"See, I was on a roll, like, four years ago or something. I had been sleeping for half the season, from the end of November until right about now in January, then this stupid shrine maiden comes along and makes a racket and wakes me up and tries to fight me and I'm like 'No way, fool!' and she's like 'Oh crap!' and runs away after I get serious-" Yuuka paused to take a breath- "But she still woke me up, so when I heard that there was another youkai better at sleeping I got mad and wanted to find out so I followed that cat here and now-"

"My god, are you okay? Your face is blue! Breathe! Dear goodness…"

"So. That's it, I guess."

"I see. Not a trip in vain then?"

"Nope, I got to talk at someone for the first time in a while. And you actually listened, or it looked like you did." Yuuka smiled. "Thanks, lady. I needed that."

"You're quite welcome."

"Hey, you sleep in winter because it's boring, right?"

"Right…"

"So do you wanna come with me to see the Adonis flowers sometime this year?"

"Oh! Well… Well, all right, I suppose… No harm in that…"

_Ran was shocked when the green haired youkai walked back out of the back room with Yukari in tow. She was about to mention the chores that needed doing, but stopped herself when she noticed the puzzled, but still happy, smile that was spreading across her master's face._

_Yukari Yakumo hadn't expected to be dragged along to see flowers, nor to be taken in immediately by such a spur of the moment offer, but the quirky flower youkai seemed nice enough, for the time being… And she didn't have anything to do that day, either._

...

Yuuka smiled to herself. The sun coming through the glass roof really was nothing like that old winter day. Nor was the scent of flowers from all types of land, nor the waving ranks of growing sunflowers visible through the windows. But one thing was still the same: as she looked out at her precious garden, and its sole visitor, she noticed again just how soft Yukari Yakumo's hair looked.


End file.
